When ravens come knocking
by GingerRogers15
Summary: ... I'll be by your side. Riza has trouble sleeping on a bad night and finds comfort in the person she least expected to see.


Dedicated to Gabe. Seriously this is all your fault you absolute rat. I hope you at least find some enjoyment in it.

Note: this one takes place some time after Riza is reassigned to the Fuhrer, but before she meets Pride. Not sure how it would fall in there but I can dream. Since Mustang is usually portrayed as the more emotional of the two (he obviously is,) and Riza is usually his comforter, I decided to write the opposite. Thus this was born.

It was late. Dusk had long since cast shadows over the bedroom walls but Riza Hawkeye still sat motionless in her bed, half-covered by sweat-soaked sheets and halfway to a full blown panic attack. She hadn't moved in an hour. Her shoulders still shook with the smallest of shivers and though exhaustion crept into every fiber of her being she didn't dare close her eyes. She knew that she needed to move, to get up and get some rest, but her entire body was tense and ready for fight or flight, though she did not yet know her enemy.  
There was a lot that she did not know, it seemed.  
As she looked down at her hands that held the pistol she kept under her pillow she realized that her fingers were trembling uncontrollably. She was absolutely useless in such a state- if she could not control her fears when she was alone how could she expect to protect the Colonel? She needed to get ahold of herself.  
Tea was what she needed now, she realized, the thought suddenly breaking through her paralysis and causing her to stir. Tea was comforting. Tea was safe and relaxing. She untangled herself from the sheets and stood, her toes curling involuntarily as they hit the cold wood floor. She carefully slipped the pistol into the back waistband of her shorts and pulled on a hoodie before she stepped silently into the tiny kitchen.  
It was always freezing in the kitchen, and tonight was no exception. A draft could be felt creeping in from the small window above the sink, and she wondered if she ought to move her peppermint plant so that it did not wilt from the cold air. The small bright red pot that housed her peppermint was the only splash of color that could be found in the entire apartment, and she decided that she would not take any chances of having it die from the cold, so she took the plant and placed it safely on the table instead.  
Rubbing her arms as she filled her kettle with water from the tap, she sighed deeply as she went through the motions of making tea, forcing her body to relax as she did so.  
She set the water to boil and leaned back against the small refrigerator while she waited. Hayate padded into the kitchen and sat beside her, prompting her to lean down and scoop him into her arms. His warm fur was soft and comforting, and she held him close to her chest as she closed her eyes and stroked him gently.  
She was just starting to relax when the kettle whistled loudly and she flinched so violently that Hayate squirmed from her arms and took up a defensive stance beside her. Her hand involuntarily shot to the grip of the pistol- but there was no visible threat except the tea pot, which sat whistling innocently on the stovetop. Letting out a shaky breath, Riza staggered forwards and took the kettle off the burner before she filled a cup with the boiling water. She plucked two peppermint leaves from the plant on the table and then tore them in half before she dropped them into the cup and watched the pieces swirl around and around. She ignored her rapid heart rate and the fact that the kettle had startled her so badly.  
'My nerves are shot tonight, aren't they, Hayate,' she laughed, but the sound was hollow as it echoed in the empty kitchen. The dog growled quietly and curled up on the floor beside her as she sat at the table and pulled her feet up into the chair so that she could rest her chin on her knees.  
She stared blankly at the peppermint plant on the table. The crimson pot hardly held any of its shine from when she had first gotten it several months ago, but the plant itself was thriving. As she took a sip from her cup and tasted the cool mint, she decided that it had been a worthwhile investment.  
Riza took her time finishing the tea. She was in no hurry to return to bed, and the warmth of the tea was already relaxing her muscles and soothing her anxiety. When she was drinking tea alone in her cold kitchen she could almost forget about everything else- that is, until the tea was gone. And all too soon she had taken her last drink. All that remained in the bottom of the cup were the dregs, and she swirled them thoughtfully as she considered making some more.  
But exhaustion was beginning to take over, and her body was contentedly warm and her eyelids were threatening to droop closed.  
'Come, Hayate,' she called, stifling a yawn. He jumped to his feet as she pushed her chair back, stood, and placed her cup in the sink and he followed her back into the bedroom.  
Riza turned off all of the lights in the room and laid back in bed. Hayate bounded into the bed and landed beside her and his thick fur brushed against her face as he lay down beside her head. She stroked him gently with one hand. The other hand slowly crept to her waistband where it tightly gripped the pistol handle there. Something inside her had changed when she had turned out the lights. She didn't quite understand why she was so nervous in the dark. It wasn't even pitch black- the full moon shone through the window and shadows flickered on the wall though nothing around her moved. Nothing moved. Nothing had happened yet.  
Yet. .  
Perhaps that was the issue. The anticipation of a disaster yet to come, combined with the memories of previous disasters that constantly haunted her.  
Hayate was already asleep. His small body quivered as he sighed in his sleep. Riza focused on her heartbeat and counted each beat of her pulse.  
Inhale, one, two, three, four. Exhale, one, two, three, four. It was enough to remind her that her heart was still beating and that she was still alive. As long as she was alive she could still fight whatever came to get her. Hayate curled closer to her neck so that she could feel his chest rising and falling as he slept.  
Her hand holding the pistol relaxed its hold. She was fine. She was safe here. She could breathe, and Black Hayate was with her.  
Gradually, the tea forced her eyes closed, and slowed down her heart rate ...  
It was dark. Of this one thing she was absolutely certain. She stood suspended- no, she hung suspended- in a pitch black sea where the air was thicker than blood. It hurt to breathe. Eyes opened all around her, and there- a mouth, laughing, gaping wide-  
She shot up in bed, gasping and choking for breath. Hayate sprung upright, bristling. Riza put her head in her hands- which she noticed somehow still held the gun- and gritted her teeth so tightly she thought they might break. If her shoulders would just stop shaking-!  
Hayate realized there was no threat and sniffed her face in concern.  
'The tea didn't work, Hayate,' she murmured through her hands. 'I thought for sure that the tea-'  
The phone rang and she swung her arms towards the doorway, pistol aiming for whatever threat she might find there.  
The hallway was empty. The phone continued to ring. Her shoulders trembled as she exhaled shakily and lowered the gun.  
Riza walked slowly into the kitchen, shoulders tense with adrenaline. Who would be calling her at this hour? Hayate followed her into the cold room, fur still bristling as he picked up on her stress. She lifted the phone from the counter with one hand. The other hand still gripped the pistol.  
'Yes?' That was most definitely not her voice. It sounded wrong. It sounded scared.  
'It's me! I'm wondering if you're interested in buying a new car.' That was most definitely not his voice. It sounded wrong. It sounded too cheerful. She became instantly concerned and held the phone closer to her face. She closed her eyes.  
'What do you need, Colonel?'  
A sigh at the other end.  
'Is everything alright, sir?' she ignored that her voice trembled ever so slightly, but of course he noticed.  
'What's wrong?' There he was- back to his real voice. She wondered if she imagined how tired he suddenly sounded.  
'I'm fine,' she lied, opening her eyes again and taking a deep breath. 'Did you need something, sir?'  
'Did you know,' he said, offhand. 'That ravens tend to be solitary creatures?...'  
It was a code, and it meant that he had a bad feeling. Ravens were creatures of ill omen, if one was superstitious, and they had modeled the code around this portent.  
'I did know that,' she replied slowly.  
'One seems to be hanging around my bedroom window, just beside my bed. It's terribly bothersome, and he brings his friends to loiter on my ceiling. Any suggestions? I feel silly for even asking.' He laughed. 'Ha, ha.' It was a hollow sound.  
'I have heard,' she said, 'that growing peppermint in the windows will ward off most evils. In fact, I have some myself if you'd like to pick it up sometime, sir.'  
The line went dead. She stared at it for a moment in confusion.  
'Colonel? Colonel! Has something happened?' An image of Hughes, found dead in a telephone booth flashed to her mind, unbidden, and her knees buckled. Her breath came in short gasps. She gripped the phone with both hands, felt the cold metal of the pistol caress her cheek as clutched the gun and phone to her face in the desperate hope that the line would reconnect.  
There was a knock at the door.  
They had come for her for sure.  
Hayate let loose a low growl. The phone fell from Riza's hand and clattered to the table. Struggling to stand upright, she leaned heavily on the table for support until she could stumble to the door, pistol in shaking hand. Positioning herself carefully behind the door where she could not be caught unawares, she held the gun upright with one hand and with the other she slid the door open-  
'Lieutenant?'  
She could have collapsed with relief.  
'Colonel.' Stepping away from where she hid behind the door, she lowered the gun.  
'I believe I was promised peppermint?' he said. She did not miss the fact that he closely studied her face as he stood just outside her door and that his eyes widened considerably in alarm at the sight of her pistol in her hand. He opened his mouth to speak but she interrupted him.  
'Please come in,' she said quietly, and closed the door behind him as he entered.  
He looked strange standing there in a sweater and sweatpants, with both hands in his pockets. A white scarf hung loosely around his neck. He stood there in the center of the living room, keen eyes searching for possible threats. He turned to her with a questioning look, expecting an explanation for her unease, but she denied him this explanation. He had too much on his mind to be burdened with her misgivings.  
'Trying to be inconspicuous, sir?' she asked in an attempt to be nonchalant, motioning to his attire with the pistol still in her hand before she quickly slipped it back into the waistband of her pajama shorts.  
'Ha, ha, I'm trying,' he laughed, but there was no real mirth in his voice. Upon second glance, he looked rather pale.  
'About that raven you saw-' she began.  
'Where did you find your peppermint?' he asked. It was a deliberate plea to change the subject. She imagined he had gone even paler at the mention of the 'raven'.  
'A friend gave it to me,' she answered slowly. 'Would you like some here?'  
'I would love some, thank you.'  
'Not a problem, sir.'  
They were being deliberately formal. His tone was too clipped, too tight, and hers was uncharacteristically high-pitched. Neither of them addressed it, though. Both of them preferred to ignore it.  
They had become so skilled at hiding their emotions, at pretending like the darkness didn't bother them that they felt uncomfortable expressing anything that was genuine. She found it strange that the Colonel seemed to look most relaxed when he was faking a laugh or a smile than at any other time. Perhaps he felt that he was fooling the people that he cared about, that he was protecting them from his demons.  
Riza saw right through him.  
But there was nothing she could say. No measure of sympathy or condolences could erase memories of Ishval from their minds. They had made their choices. And they would learn to live with the regret that their choices brought, no matter how difficult it proved to be.  
They deserved every bit of pain that came to them.  
Roy stepped to the side and walked in a wide circle around her kitchen table, looking at the sparse decor and naked walls and trying to determine whether or not they posed a threat to her.  
'You have many friends that come by here?' he asked, and she shook her head as she switched on the burner for the kettle. He frowned thoughtfully. 'Who gave you the peppermint?'  
'You did, sir,' she said as she took four leaves from the plant growing at the kitchen windowsill and crushed them into two separate cups. 'You taught me.'  
She stared at him, hoping he would understand. He was the one who had helped her in the past when she had difficulty handling her ravens- her nightmares. Tea was one coping method for her. She hoped he remembered.  
'I seem to have forgotten,' he said hesitantly. He looked white as a sheet.  
'Forgotten, sir?' Her shoulders sagged ever so slightly until he said,  
'Yes,' and sighed. 'I seem to have forgotten how to handle ravens.'  
He referred to the anxiety and uneasiness. She had a feeling that he referred specifically to the nightmares. For a split second she wondered what sorts of horrors he saw at night when he slept, but she quickly removed the thought from her mind. She did not wish to dwell on what they had done in the past, or the startlingly clear mental image of Roy, jolted out of bed with a strangled-  
The kettle screamed. Riza flinched almost imperceptibly, and the Colonel was so deep in thought that he might have jumped out of his skin at the sudden noise.  
Riza quickly removed the kettle from the burner and laid a black potholder on the table before setting the kettle on top of it.  
'Do the ravens visit often?' Riza asked, pretending she hadn't seen him start so suddenly at the sound of the kettle whistling.  
'All too often these days,' Roy replied, pretending he hadn't reacted so violently to Riza's sudden movement.  
Riza filled both tea cups with boiling water and then lowered herself into a chair at the kitchen table and placed the two cups in front of her. Steam rose from the white porcelain cup and its thick mint scent invited Mustang to sit across from her. As he did so, he took one of the warm cups in his hands and contemplated it as he waited for it to cool.  
'Would you like to discuss it, sir?' she asked, watching him closely over the rim of her cup as she took a tentative sip of the hot drink. She already felt calmer- the combined effect of the tea and Mustang's presence relaxed her almost instantly. She could not help but notice how the tension in his shoulders seemed to lessen when he too took a sip of the tea.  
'The tea is excellent, Lieutenant,' he said quietly, ignoring her question.  
The room was too quiet. Black Hayate's nails clicked on the tile as he approached the pair of them at the table. He lifted his nose and sniffed Mustang, who idly rubbed the dog's head.  
'I have a lot on my mind,' Roy murmured. He tapped his finger against the rim of the cup, a motion she thought strange. It was rare for him to fidget, or even to hesitate at all. The motion was especially out of character because she had never seen him use it in code before, either. She could not imagine what he was trying to express to her. She frowned and arched an eyebrow, letting him see her displeasure at her lack of understanding.  
'I offer my assistance concerning the Ravens, Colonel.' She spoke gently, but his brow still furrowed in distress. He avoided her gaze.  
'I wish you could be there when they come knocking at the window,' he said, clenching the fist that rested on the table. She noticed suddenly that he was not wearing his gloves, and her eyes could not help but linger on the jagged scars that traced the skin drawn taut over his knuckles. 'Perhaps then you could begin to understand what it is like to see them up close.'  
'Sir,' she said. 'I know more about ravens than you can possibly imagine.'  
He lifted his eyes to her face in what may have been horror. She met his gaze with steady face, but her shoulders had begun to tremble ever so slightly. He dropped his eyes.  
'Forgive me for misunderstanding, Lieutenant,' he said finally, with effort. 'I did not realize-'  
'It is not your fault, sir,' she interrupted. 'It is not your fault.'  
'But it is my fault,' he countered. His voice shook with emotion. 'It is all of our faults. We are all guilty. What we did back there-'  
'Please do not say such things, sir,' she said quietly, dangerously. A warning. 'Remembering such things tonight won't help.'  
If he seemed surprised at her sudden low tone, he hid it well.  
'The Raven is back,' he muttered, and pinched the bridge of his nose.  
Riza did not know what to say. Had it been anyone but the Colonel, she would have placed a hand on his and reassured him that everything was fine. She would have lied to keep him calm. She would have offered a place of refuge for the night. But as it was...  
'I think that you should go home now,' she said evenly, and tapped her cup twice on the table before taking a drink and watching him over the rim of her cup with arched eyebrows. His eyes snapped to hers, full of confusion, then despair, then dawning comprehension as his focus shifted to the cup in her hand.  
'I would return home,' he replied steadily, catching on to her meaning, 'but it would seem that my house is overrun with ravens.'  
'All I can offer, sir, is a place on the couch,' Riza said smoothly. 'As my commanding officer, though, you may just as easily request that I sleep on the couch while you rest in my bed-'  
'I wouldn't dare take a bed from a lady,' he quickly replied, and laughed again, that empty, hollow sound. 'I- thank you for the offer, though.'  
'Not a problem, sir.'  
Roy lifted his teacup to his lips with shaking hand as his eyes continued to traverse the small kitchen. Suddenly he froze.  
'Lieutenant?'  
'Yes, sir?'  
'There is one issue with your proposal.'  
'Sir?'  
'Your apartment has no couch, Lieutenant.'  
'Then perhaps you would not mind sleeping on the floor?' she asked.  
The smell of peppermint and his cheap cologne had a soporific effect on Riza. She pulled her knees to her chest, feeling more and more relaxed by the second. He had his elbows propped on the table now, and his exhaustion seemed to be catching up to him, overwhelming his fear.  
He yawned before draining the rest of his tea. All that remained were the bits of leaves left behind, which he stared at pensively.  
'Peppermint ...' he mused quietly. 'You will have to teach me, now, as it would seem I have forgotten.'  
She finished her own cup and rose from the table. 'I am retiring for the evening,' she said. 'I hope you will forgive me for sleeping with a gun under my pillow, sir.'  
'I welcome your devotion to your profession,' he nodded. She thought she saw him smile ever so slightly- a real smile this time. She felt her expression soften involuntarily as she returned the smile. It was a step in the right direction.  
He watched her leave the kitchen with Hayate at her heels.  
'You offered me a place on the floor?' he called to her as he stood and followed her to the bedroom. As he entered the small, dark room, she passed him a thin, gray blanket and a white pillow that he threw onto the floor beside the bed.  
Riza sat down on her bed and Hayate leaped up beside her. Roy sprawled out on his stomach on the floor, face already buried deep into the pillow.  
'I hope that the peppermint helps with your raven problem, sir,' Riza said as she pulled her sheets over her shoulders. He lifted his head. Her back was to him, and he could just see the top of the tattoo on her back peeking from where the hoodie did not quite cover her neck.  
'I hope so, too, Lieutenant,' he sighed as he closed his eyes and fell back onto the soft pillow. 'Goodnight.'  
'Goodnight, sir.'

Roy Mustang never dreamed. When he closed his eyes to sleep, he only had visions of terror brought by fire from his own hands. Often he woke in a fever, sweating profusely and gasping for breath. Sparks would dance dangerously on the tips of his fingers and his pulse would race out of control. But tonight was different. Tonight, the cool mint tea had a calming effect on his body. It relaxed tense muscles and soothed his burning skin. He did not dream, but he did not have nightmares, either. As he drifted into oblivion, he idly wondered if the Lieutenant would be interested in letting him leave with a peppermint plant of his own. Soft darkness enveloped his consciousness and he breathed slowly, steadily, until he was just dozing off-  
The Lieutenant shot upright in bed like a bullet launched from a gun. Roy sprang to his feet, one white glove already slipping onto his fingers. His blanket and scarf fell to the floor. Hayate growled dangerously.  
'What is it?' he demanded.  
The air crackled with tension and everything hung suspended for several seconds. Roy's pulse roared in his ears.  
And then he looked at Riza, and his aggressive composure shattered like glass.  
She held her hands in front of her face. They were trembling uncontrollably, and she only stared at them in horror as her chest shook with ragged gasps.  
'Lieutenant? What's wrong?' the Colonel asked, more gently this time, but Riza could only shake her head.  
'Just a bad dream,' she whispered. 'I am sorry to disturb you, sir-'  
He ignored her and sat on the bed, just opposite her, and held her hands in his, forcing them to stop shaking. The instant his hands touched hers, her fear-filled eyes snapped to his. Though her shoulders shook with sobs, there were no tears in her eyes. He squeezed her hands gently.  
'You're alright,' he said gently, and the ghost of a reassuring smile appeared on his pale face, barely visible in the moonlight. 'I'm not going anywhere. Just breathe.'  
She was so white that he was sure she would pass out, and she was still breathing too rapidly.  
'Look at me,' he murmured, and placed one of her cold, trembling hands on his chest, just over his heart. He noticed absentmindedly that his sweatshirt was soaked with sweat, a fact that both of them ignored. He covered her hand with his. 'Can you feel that? Focus on my heartbeat. Breathe with me. Don't think about anything else.'  
As she started to breathe more evenly, he placed one hand on the back of her head and pulled her face to his shoulder. She was shaking so violently that he took her blanket from her bed and wrapped it around her as he held her.  
They remained that way for what felt like hours. He gently rocked her back and forth until finally she exhaled and lifted her head to look up at him.  
'Forgive me, Colonel, I-'  
He interrupted her with a sad shake of his head.  
'It is not your fault,' he reminded her. 'You said so yourself, remember? It's the ravens...'  
A long silence passed. Her hand still rested on his chest.  
'Thank you, Colonel,' she whispered.  
'Just returning the favor,' he said, in reference to the mint tea.  
She slowly, almost reluctantly, pulled away from him and folded her hands in her lap. Hayate rested his head on her knee.  
'Please go back to sleep, Colonel,' she said quietly, her voice nowhere near her usual confident tone. 'I do not plan on falling back asleep for the rest of tonight. I apologize for waking you, sir.'  
'Does it help when you're not alone?' he asked her.  
'I will stand guard for the remainder of the night while you take your rest, sir,' she continued. Her voice wavered ever so slightly as she moved to stand. The blanket slipped from her shoulders and she shivered. He grabbed her arm before she could stand and stared at her until she met his eyes.  
'I cannot allow my subordinates to work themselves to the ground,' Roy declared, then added more gently, 'Please try to get some sleep. I'll be right here beside you.'  
'That's exactly what I'm afraid of, sir,' she quavered.  
Roy was struck silent. Riza couldn't possibly mean that she was afraid of him- they trusted each other with their lives. But certainly she didn't think-  
'I don't want to hurt you, Colonel.'  
Momentarily speechless, Roy could only stare wordlessly at her pained face, at those big brown eyes haunted by dark circles. Then suddenly he leaned over and pulled the pistol from beneath her pillow and set it on the nightstand beside the bed, far from her reach.  
'Don't go worrying about me, now,' he said with a grin that took all of his effort to maintain. Inside, he felt sick. 'Rest now, Riza.'  
When she made no motion to move, he added, 'That's an order, Lieutenant.'  
Hesitantly, she lowered herself back to the pillows, her arms wrapped tightly about her waist. She looked up at him with large, childish eyes as he pulled the blankets over her. She seemed in that moment a dozen years younger.  
'Forgive me, Colonel-' she repeated, but he interrupted her with a motion for silence.  
She rolled onto her side and pulled the sheets closer to her body and as she did so he lowered himself to lay beside her, facing her back. He let one of his hands rest on her shoulder, and she breathed a deep sigh at his comforting touch.  
'I'm right here if you need me,' he said. 'I'm not leaving.' At her slow nod, he lifted his free hand and stroked her hair.  
'I wish I had been able to come here sooner,' he murmured. 'I wish I had known...'  
'Don't concern yourself with me, Colonel,' she pleaded. 'I am supposed to be the one protecting you-'  
'No, you misunderstand, Riza,' he said, chuckling sadly. 'We are supposed to protect each other. We have each other's backs, remember?'  
His calloused fingers worked out tangles and knots in her long blonde hair and as he continued to do so, he felt her shoulders gradually begin to relax.  
Her hand suddenly reached out and held his. He covered her cold fingers with his warm hand and their fingers intertwined with one another. She held his hand tightly as though she feared that if she let him go, he would never return.  
'Colonel?' Her voice was barely above a whisper.  
'Yes, Lieutenant.'  
'Would you mind talking?' she asked. 'It's so quiet...'  
'Do you know how I got here so quickly?' he said. 'When I was talking to you on the phone I was just outside this building, contemplating whether or not I should come in.'  
'You are always welcome here, sir,' she said, voice muffled by a yawn.  
Roy was silent for a moment as gratitude swelled in his chest. 'Thank you, Lieutenant.' He paused again and worked a tangle out of her hair before he brushed it back down with his fingers. 'Well, I was sitting outside on a bench indecisively. Then I decided to call. And when you said you could help me with the ravens, I welcomed myself in.'  
'Sir, I would appreciate it if you never broke off a call so suddenly ever again.'  
He thought he heard her voice break.  
'I don't-' he began, and then stopped dead. Hughes. His heart dropped to the floor and as his mind flashed back to when he first opened the door to her apartment he suddenly understood why she had been holding a gun.  
'I apologize, Lieutenant. I'm sorry,' he said finally.  
'You are a reckless idiot,' she breathed, attempting to sound lighthearted.  
He chuckled, and she felt his breath against her neck.  
'I am indeed, Lieutenant.'  
She breathed a laugh.  
'Goodnight, sir.'  
Her fingers brushed against the ridges of scar tissue on his hand and he squeezed her hand gently.  
'Goodnight, Riza. I'll be here when you wake.'  
She exhaled and pulled the blankets closer to her face. Hayate snored softly beside her. Gradually, her breathing evened out and she drifted into sleep. However Roy had no intentions of doing so. He knew that Riza would reprimand him if she found out he had sacrificed a precious night of sleep for her, but he hardly cared. Staying up was the only way he could think of to show her that he truly meant what he said- that he would be there for her when she woke, regardless of when that was.  
Besides, he doubted he could even find sleep after seeing her so shaken. As he continued to stroke her hair, he tried to erase her fear-filled eyes from his mind, but the image seemed burned onto his conscience. His stomach twisted.  
Riza shifted slightly as she slept and her grip on his hand tightened.  
Sometimes, he wished it did not have to be so difficult. He wondered what it would be like to be able to come and go freely, to be able to express his affection for her openly.  
He wondered if he would take it for granted.  
He laced his fingers through her fine golden hair and sighed. Riza again moved in her sleep. She seemed so restless, and Roy could not help but worry that she was having another nightmare, but he did not wake her. Her chest still rose and fell evenly, and her body was not yet pulled tight with tension brought by fear and nightmares. He would let her sleep until she needed him.  
In the meantime, he was finding it difficult to stay awake what with both Riza and Black Hayate sleeping so peacefully beside him, not to mention the relaxing effects of the tea, so he distracted himself by looking around the bedroom.  
It was relatively light, due to the full moon glistening in the window, and he could make out most of the furniture, sparse though it was. A bookshelf resided in one corner, half-filled with volumes he could not make out from where he was lying. The white walls reflected moonlight, but the black curtains did their best to keep any light from passing through in the first place. It caused strange shadows to dance on the walls, to move in a strange, almost lively fashion. Roy had never liked the dark. He considered recommending a lamp to Riza for when she slept, or perhaps he would bring a candle for her next time he showed up. Maybe that would help her relax at night.  
Riza shuddered once and then pulled closer to Roy's chest. She rested her head against his collarbone, and he shifted his free arm so that she could lay on it as a pillow. He watched her as she slept, as her eyelids fluttered and she sighed deeply. He could feel her breathing.  
Though she had all of the blankets and he had none, she shivered in her sleep. She curled her knees to her ribcage and shifted even closer to him, perhaps hoping to draw some of his warmth to herself.  
Roy exhaled deeply. He could not remember the last time he felt so at ease, and he doubted he would ever feel so comfortable again.  
He had not realized how much he hated being alone.  
Slowly, hesitantly, he placed a gentle kiss on the back of her neck and swore a promise to her. When he became Fuhrer, he would marry her. He would marry her, and neither of them would sleep alone ever again. She deserved at least that much from him.  
Roy closed his eyes and matched his breathing with Riza's, but he did not allow himself to doze off. Instead, he let his mind wander to the future, where he imagined that all of his promises had been fulfilled, where he imagined that he would watch as Amestris bloomed beneath his rule. It was enough for now to simply dream of things.

The first thing that Riza noticed when sunlight graced across her features and she woke slowly was that her fingers were still laced together with Mustang's. The second thing she noticed was that she hadn't woken from a nightmare.  
'Sir?' she ventured, voice hoarse from sleep.  
'I'm here,' he said immediately. She heard sheets rustling as he rearranged himself to lift his head. 'What's wrong?'  
'Nothing, sir. I slept well.'  
'Mm. I'm glad.'  
Neither of them were eager to move, for to move would be to break the bond of intimacy that held them there. So both of them remained, silent, for at least another half hour. Roy's arm had repositioned so that she no longer lay on it and he continued to idly run his fingers through her hair. She wondered if he had slept at all.  
'Sir, you will have to leave soon,' she reluctantly informed him, and he sighed.  
'Daylight won't hide me well,' he agreed. 'Will you be alright here?'  
'Yes, sir,' she answered honestly. 'Thank you, sir.'  
Slowly, dutifully, they untangled their hands. Roy sat up and stretched, cracking half a dozen joints in the process.  
'I hope you wouldn't mind me asking,' he yawned, 'but would you be willing to let me leave with some of those peppermint leaves?'  
She tossed aside the blankets and stood.  
'You can take the plant. I'll find a new one this afternoon.'  
He paused and glanced over at her as she left the bedroom. 'You're sure?'  
'It's all yours, Colonel,' she assured him.  
When he followed her into the kitchen, Hayate following along beside him, she presented him with the small red pot filled with peppermint leaves.  
'This should help with your raven problem. Make certain you take care of it,' she requested. 'And make certain you take care of yourself as well.'  
'I swear it.'  
'Water it daily.'  
'Consider it done,' he promised. The clock on the wall ticked steadily, expectantly. They stared at each other for a long minute.  
He hesitated for a split second, and then laid the gentlest of kisses on her forehead.  
'Good morning, Lieutenant,' he said, and waved as he walked towards the door, cradling the pot in the crook of his elbow as he did so.  
'Good morning, Colonel,' she called after him, and as he closed the door behind him she allowed herself the smallest of smiles.  
The door clicked shut. Though Riza found herself alone in the cold kitchen, there was a warm presence left hanging in the air that could not be chased out by the draft from the window. She stood there silent until the sun began to peek through the window and shine onto the tile floor. Black Hayate looked up at her expectantly, waiting for her to take him on a morning walk.  
Blinking and starting suddenly as if coming out of a trance, Riza turned on her heel and returned to her bedroom to dress. As she slipped out of her shorts and picked out a pair of sweatpants, she caught a glimpse of something lying on the floor. She approached it, unsure of what it could be, but as realization dawned on her she allowed a smile to spread over her face.  
The Colonel had left his scarf.  
She stooped to pick the white scarf from the floor and then folded it before laying it on the bed to sit while she pulled on her tennis shoes. She knew that his leaving it behind was no accident. It was a ticket- an invitation to see him again.  
She laughed to herself at the amusing concept of alchemists. This was his gift of equivalent exchange- she had welcomed him into her home, and now he was welcoming her into his so that he would not be indebted to her.  
Though no information had been exchanged in their late-night meeting, it had been beneficial nonetheless. They had both needed to see each other, as dangerous and impractical as that seemed.  
But then again, what wasn't dangerous and impractical in their world?  
As Riza finished tying her shoe, she decided that she would wear the scarf when she took Black Hayate on a walk. After all, it was cold, and the scarf had been a gift. And she never knew when she might run into him again.


End file.
